A worker wearing protective gears sprays disinfectant as a precaution against the coronavirus at a subway station in Seoul, South Korea. Photo Credit: Ahn Young-joon/AP/Shutterstock
DAMIAN J. TROISE AP Business Writer
U.S. stocks fell in early trading Friday as cases of the new virus swelled in South Korea and more companies warned investors about a hit to their profits and revenue.
Renewed anxiety over the global spread of the virus also pushed stocks lower on Thursday and knocked them off of record highs in what has been a volatile, holiday-shortened week. Indexes are on track for their first weekly loss after two weeks of gains.
Technology companies led the losses. Chipmakers, which rely heavily on China for both sales and supply chains, were some of the worst-hit. Nvidia fell 1.7 percent.
Companies that depend on consumer spending, especially in travel-related industries, also fell broadly. Marriott shed 2.4 percent and Carnival fell 1.6 percent. American Airlines slipped 3.3 percent.
Investors headed for safer territory. Real estate companies and utilities held up better than the rest of the market. Bond prices rose and pushed yields lower. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 1.47 percent from 1.52 percent late Thursday.
The price of gold, another haven for nervous investors, jumped 1.4 percent.
KEEPING SCORE: The S&P 500 index fell 0.9 percent as of 10:10 a.m. Eastern time. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 268 points, or 0.9 percent, to 28,949. The Nasdaq fell 1.2 percent. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks fell 0.8 percent.
Asian and European markets also fell.
VIRUS WARNINGS: Coca-Cola is the latest big name to warn investors that the economic impact of the virus will hurt its finances. China is a big market for the company, and Coke now expects a hit of 2 cents per share to its first-quarter profit.
Universal Display, which makes LED-technology for televisions and other products, expects the virus to hurt orders in 2020. The International Air Transport Association said the virus threatens to erase $29 billion of this year’s revenue for global airlines, though mostly for Chinese carriers.
SPREADING ANXIETY: South Korea said 204 people have been infected with the virus, quadruple the number of cases it had two days earlier. More than 76,000 people have been infected globally, with most of the cases and deaths centered in China. That nation’s leadership on Friday shifted to a more cautious tone and said it has not yet reached a turning point for the virus and the situation in the hardest-hit province remains grave.
GOOD HARVEST: Deere jumped 9.1 percent after the farm equipment maker handily beat Wall Street’s fiscal first-quarter profit forecasts. The company is coming out of an extended period in which it was bruised by the ongoing trade war between the U.S. and China.
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Spain's government has fined Airbnb 64 million euros or $75 million for advertising unlicensed tourist rentals. The consumer rights ministry announced the fine on Monday. The ministry stated that many listings lacked proper license numbers or included incorrect information. The move is part of Spain's ongoing efforts to regulate short-term rental companies amid a housing affordability crisis especially in popular urban areas. The ministry ordered Airbnb in May to remove around 65,000 listings for similar violations. The government's consumer rights minister emphasized the impact on families struggling with housing. Airbnb said it plans to challenge the fine in court.
Roomba maker iRobot has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, but says that it doesn’t expect any disruptions to devices as the more than 30-year-old company is taken private under a restructuring process. iRobot said that it is being acquired by Picea through a court-supervised process. Picea is the company's primary contract manufacturer. The Bedford, Massachusetts-based anticipates completing the prepackaged chapter 11 process by February.
Serbia’s prosecutor for organized crime has charged a government minister and three others with abuse of position and falsifying of documents related to a luxury real estate project linked to U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. The charges came on Monday. The investigation centers on a controversy over a a bombed-out military complex in central Belgrade that was a protected cultural heritage zone but that is facing redevelopment as a luxury compound by a company linked to Kushner. The $500 million proposal to build a high-rise hotel, offices and shops at the site has met fierce opposition from experts at home and abroad. Selakovic and others allegedly illegally lifted the protection status for the site by falsifying documentation.
